1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of touch-sensitive detection systems, and more specifically to touch-sensitive detection systems which detect tactile contact through a wave transmitted between an electrode and a detector.
2. Description of Related Art
Touch-sensitive detection systems which detect tactile contact through a wave transmitted between an electrode and a detector have already been proposed for portable telecommunication terminals (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,585). The proposed systems provide functions for identifying or authenticating the user of the terminal by recognizing his fingerprints. International Patent Application 98/58342 describes an arrangement of detectors in a line making it possible, as a user runs his finger across this line in a direction roughly perpendicular to it, to detect certain characteristics of the user's fingerprint, using a scanner, and to authenticate the user.
Touch-sensitive detection systems are commonly used to perform functions for pointing to or navigating within menus displayed on a screen. In this case, the touch-sensitive detection system identifies the movements of a finger across a detection surface, and possibly detecting a selection signal initiated by the finger, such as repeated, swift contact with this surface. There are several types of touch-sensitive detection systems in existence using different detection principles. However, these different systems have various problems that need to be addressed for commercial success.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above, and particularly for a way to efficiently scan a user's fingerprint using a touch-sensitive device.